Installs
Aveo Interior LED Light Upgrade
by Subachad on May.08, 2011, under Automotive, Electrical, Installs, Interior
I have had LED Footwell lights in the Aveo for a while, but they were a little too green and the light was a little too focused. I prefer more of a glow and while I wasn’t able to find teal, I could find some lights that are capable of teal. As an added benefit, they are also able to pulse to the beat.
The install was pretty straight forward, I simply unplugged the power for the old lights and hooked up the new using the same relay. Since they are attached to the controller, it’s a little more difficult to run the wires.
Cobb Catted Downpipe – Hellas – Perrin Endlinks
by Subachad on Jan.24, 2011, under Drivetrain, Electrical, Installs
This weekends install started as Hella Horns, Perrin Endlinks, and Perrin sway bars. Unfortunately, the sway bars have been waiting for about a year so really its unknown whether they came with bushings or perhaps they were lost somewhere in time. At any rate, on to what we can install.
Cobb Catted downpipe
Going with a catted downpipe over the cheaper more popular catless options, allows you to actually not spit fuel out the exhaust and pass emissions, usually without cheating. Installing is not too difficult as long as you can get under the car. I’ll lay out the tools required and steps.
MS3 MazdaSpeed 3 Turbo Upgrade
by Subachad on Jan.18, 2011, under Engine, Installs
A month prior to this, we removed a turbo from a Mazdaspeed 3 so it could be sent in for a rebuild. Well the turbo came back a few weeks later all cleaned up, freshened up and a Corksport downpipe as well. The turbo looks and feels new with no shaft play and some decent looking ports. The downpipe by Corksport looks well made, is much lighter than stock, fit’s perfect and appears to be a high quality piece. I can easily recommend the Corksport downpipe.
Turbo Removed
1993 Subaru Impreza Power Steering Pump Rebuild
by Subachad on Jan.16, 2011, under Installs
Subaru power steering pumps always seem to leak after a few years. On my original Impreza I just let it leak until it got so bad I replaced the pump. If I knew I could fix it for $20, I probably would not have picked up that used replacement.
Gutting a Stock WRX UpPipe and Turbo Back Install
by Subachad on Dec.09, 2010, under Installs
What started out as a long day which would include a new clutch, finishing up a gutted stock up pipe and installing a turbo back exhaust turned into a long day, but no clutch install.
Gutting a stock Up Pipe:
Gutting a stock WRX Up Pipe is not easy, but should not be this hard. I have done a couple now and this was more difficult than the first. I no longer have a long air hammer attachment which is able to go all the way through the Catted part so I cut one that’s close and lengthened it by adding some 1/2” angle arm. Well, the cat is stronger than the steel so it took a few different “versions” of the extension, some beating on it with some large screwdrivers and a few hours of work to get this done. Luckily Darin was there to help tag team this as it took a fair amount of time. The end result is a clear path in the up pipe which fits as good as stock and retains the heat properties of the stock piece. As such, it’s unlikely to leak or have any other issues. One other thing to note is I like to weld the egt port shut as it would just through a CEL anyway. A 2.2K OHM resister goes into the plug to resolve the CEL.
Darin, AKA Route69 Gutting a WRX UpPipe


